CORNYN FILES SUIT TO ENFORCE PUBLIC INFORMATION ACT

Plano Police Department must release records

AUSTIN - Texas Attorney General John Cornyn today announced a lawsuit against the Plano
Police Department for refusing to supply requested information without seeking a ruling
from the Attorney General's office. The lawsuit seeks a writ of mandamus compelling the
Plano Police Department to release the information.

"Citizens and governmental entities may disagree about whether or not a particular
piece of information is considered an open record. In these instances, the law
provides that it is the Attorney General's responsibility to resolve the dispute-not the
governmental body," said Attorney General Cornyn. "I will continue to enforce our
Public Information Act and protect the public's access to open records."

Last spring, a citizen requested a copy of all records, including video and audio tapes,
relating to a Plano Police Department arrest. Although they provided the citizen with some
basic information about the arrest, the police department denied release of the most
responsive information. Instead of seeking a ruling from the Attorney General, the police
department unilaterally rejected the citizen's request for information claiming a law
enforcement exception to disclosure. Under the Public Information Act, the police
department was obligated to seek a ruling from the Attorney General on whether the
exception they claimed actually applied.

By law, the police department had 10 days to request a ruling from the Attorney General's
office. The time for requesting a ruling has expired, and the law provides that in failing to
seek a ruling, they waived the exception. Therefore, the information is considered an open
record and must be released.

The lawsuit was filed in state district court in Travis County. The lawsuit was triggered by a
complaint by the original requestor to the Open Government Hotline, which is a service of
the Office of the Attorney General. The Hotline's toll free number is 877/OPEN-TEX or
877/673-6839. In addition to receiving complaints, the Hotline also answers questions about
the Public Information Act and the Open Meetings Act. Last year, the Hotline handled a total
of 5,133 phone calls. The Hotline is on target to handle over 12,600 calls this year--a 145%
increase.

Over the last two years, the Attorney General's office has sponsored eight regional open
government conferences to educate local government officials of their responsibilities under
the law. There are two more regional conferences planned in Lubbock on Aug. 11 and in
Weslaco on October 13, and these conferences are open to the public.